This invention relates to test and measurement and more particularly to network cable testing.
Fast test time is important in local area network (LAN) cable testing, because in a particular test scenario, 36 individual frequency response measurements need to be made, each at 1,168 test frequencies over a range of 1 to 600 MHz. This substantial number of tests can require a significant amount of time to complete. One approach to speeding up the measurement time heretofore is to employ a system wherein simultaneous measurements are made by providing two different test signals on different conductors pairs of a cable, employing two different non-interfering test frequencies, wherein the frequencies are offset so that the first test signal and second test signal do not interfere with the particular respective other test. This type of system places restrictions on the testing that can be done simultaneously, since the non-interfering frequency requirement must be observed.